Skinny – Fat
July 22, 2014
I hear it heaps! “I’ve got this friend who eats whatever she likes, never exercises, and never puts on weight….. it’s not fair!”
But hear this……
It’s commonly thought that if you are overweight you are unhealthy, and if you are thin, you are healthy. But research suggests that isn’t always the case and if you’re a “skinny fat” person – beware!!
The medical term for this is “MONW,” or metabolically obese normal weight. This means you have not enough muscle and too much fat (especially belly fat). Turns out we shouldn’t necessarily be envious of our ‘skinny’ friends, it can be better to be to be bigger and fit than thin and out of shape.
Often our ‘skinny fat’ friends have a ‘healthy range’ BMI so feel happy and content in maintaining their current lifestyle habits. These are often the friends that eat lots of processed foods and sugars, consume lots of alcohol, do NO exercise, and on the outside, their bodies don’t seem to be affected by it.
But if a doctor was to investigate further, you often find they have high blood sugars (a diabetes risk), high triglyceride levels (fat in the blood), high cholesterol levels and high blood pressure.
So, careful not to assume that your size 8 friends are pictures of health…. They might be if they do the right things, but it’s not a given.
Sometimes we need to shift the focus from ‘skinny’ to healthy!!
Keep muscle on your body, feed your body with nutrient rich foods, and keep your doctor happy!!
Have a great day,
Paula Gale
